Ten countries felt that the delay in the trial of the opponent Kavala “Jet” a shadow on respect for democracy [and] of the rule of law “in Turkey. The businessman has been imprisoned since 2017 without conviction.
Le Monde with AFP
Turkey has summoned, Tuesday, October 19, the ambassadors of ten countries including France, Germany and the United States, judging “unacceptable” the call for the release of opponent Osman Kavala launched by These states, the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “The press release [published Monday by the ten countries] on social networks about an independent judicial proceeding is unacceptable,” said the department.
“We told them that they violated the rule of law, democracy and the independence of the justice they defend”, continued the department, according to the communiqué issued after the convocation of the Ambassadors. “It was pointed out that Turkey is a state of democratic law that respects human rights, and it was reminded that Turkish justice would not be influenced by such declarations.”
In A statement published Monday night , Canada, France, Finland, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden and states -Unis had called for a “fair and rapid settlement of Osman Kavala, publisher and Turkish patron became a black beast of the plan, imprisoned for four years without conviction. “The persistent delay [taken by] his trial (…) throws a shadow on respect for democracy, the rule of law and the transparency of the Turkish judicial system,” wrote the representatives of the ten countries.
Guarded in prison despite the threats of European sanctions
The businessman and philanthrope Osman Kavala, imprisoned since October 2017, will remain at least until 26 November in prison, decided early October a court of Istanbul, despite the European threats of sanctions against Ankara. This opponent of 64 years, a major figure of civil society, has since been accused by the President Recep Tayyip Erdogan regime to try to destabilize Turkey.
In particular, it is possible to have supported the anti-government protests known in 2013 under the name of Movement of Gezi having targeted Mr. Erdogan, then Prime Minister. Then he was accused of having sought to “overthrow the government” during the 2016 coup attempt.
In December 2019, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) had ordered its “immediate release”, in vain. The Council of Europe recently threatened Ankara of sanctions, which can be adopted at its next session (from November 30 to December 2) if the opponent is not released by then.
Osman Kavala estimated last week that his detention allowed the power of Mr. Erdogan to justify his “compotive theses”. “For me, the real reason for my prolonged detention meets the government’s need to maintain the fiction of a plot,” he said from his cell through his lawyer.